VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Police shot and killed a pit bull after the dog attacked a teenage boy, according to the Virginia Beach Police Department.
Officers said the call came in around 3:30 p.m. in the 5200 block of Richard Road, which is near the intersection of Virginia Beach Boulevard and North Witchduck Road.
“I’ve never seen a dog attack, anyone, like only on TV, [but] not in person,” Terri Hall, who has lived in the neighborhood for eight years, said. “It was horrible.”
Witnesses said the boy, who police said was 14, was waiting to pick up his sister being dropped off by a school bus, and standing by a power box, when the dog attacked him.
“The little boy was saying, ‘Help, don’t let me die,” Tyjuan Walker said. “The dog was too vicious. I don’t know what was going on with that dog. I’ve never seen a pit like that before, so hyped like that.”
Both Hall and Walker immediately jumped into action.
“I just put him in a headlock, and I swung his [expletive] around. He tried to get me while someone hit him, and then he fled, but then I got him off of the little boy,” Hall said. “My knees hurt a little bit, and he kind of ripped my [jacket], there was a little bit of blood on my back, but I’m OK.”
As officers were giving the boy aid, police said they were "confronted by the dog and euthanized it."
Police said an officer shot the dog twice.
Officers later said the dog was "accidentally let out of the house by a visitor" and was not on a leash.
The pit bull's owner, 33-year-old Danielle Hughes of Virginia Beach, was charged with misdemeanor Dog at Large, Expired Rabies Vaccine, and Expired City License, according to the department. Police said there were no reports of prior biting instances involving the dog.
The boy was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, but police have not provided an update about his condition.
Walker was thankful for neighbors, including Hall, who stepped in to save the teen.
“I’m going to be honest, she saved that little boy’s life,” Walker said.
“I have a daughter, around about his age, and that’s all that I was thinking about at that time,” Hall added. “My adrenaline kicked in, and I just did what I did.”
